Parents with sick children were reportedly left waiting outside a Glasgow A&E after the doors were closed and a member of staff was positioned outside the department.
Around 10 people are understood to have been standing outside the Accident and Emergency department at the Royal Hospital for Children in Glasgow at around 8pm on Tuesday, September 22.
The Herald had been told the doors to the department were closed, with a member of staff positioned outside. Parents and sick children, with one child in a push chair, were reportedly queueing outside the closed doors.
One parent, who arrived with their child to find the doors to A&E closed and a member of staff positioned outside manning the entrance, said: “This is very much an issue which needs highlighted. No parent with a sick child should arrive at A&E and find they can’t get in.”
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde has said no child patients were delayed or prevented from accessing care. The board said any suggestion that patients were prevented from entering A&E is inaccurate.
A spokesperson said: “No child patients were delayed or prevented from accessing care within the A&E department at the Royal Hospital for Children.
“Waiting areas can be very busy, especially during evenings.
“During these busier periods, we may ask that each child is accompanied by only one adult, with additional family members asked to wait in another area.
“This is for the safety and wellbeing of all patients, as it allows staff to properly observe them.
“However, additional family members can join their child once they are through the waiting area, ensuring they do not miss important information.”
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It is not clear how long access at the entrance was being controlled or how long some of those gathered outside had been waiting.
The account given to The Herald raises questions over how access to the department was being managed during a busy evening and how children requiring urgent treatment were being identified.
The Royal Hospital for Children is based on the Queen Elizabeth University Hospital campus in Glasgow and provides emergency care for children and young people.
NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde said waiting areas could become particularly busy during evenings and that, at those times, each child may be limited to one accompanying adult, with additional family members asked to wait elsewhere.
The health board said the measure was intended to protect the safety and wellbeing of patients and allow staff to properly observe them.
It maintains that no child patient was prevented from entering the department or delayed in receiving care.
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